Mr Cassidy said rural jobs tended to be more vulnerable to lockdowns because of work involving "more physical interaction", including tourism and food processing. The 'severe' scenario could play out if the virus makes a serious comeback in the autumn or 2021. This would produce longer restrictions on society and "a larger permanent loss of output", the Central Bank found. Yet even in its relatively benign 'baseline' projection, the Central Bank foresees Ireland's GDP falling by 9pc this year. Mr Cassidy said it was impossible to know which scenario was more likely.

Source: Irish Independent July 03, 2020 01:30 UTC